Oaxacan Indigenous immigrants are the largest Indigenous immigrant community in Los Angeles. Mayan immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala constitute the largest Maya community outside both countries, creating a strong presence in the city. Working with Zapotec and Mixtec from Oaxaca and Maya from Guatemala and Mexico Indigenous immigrants, students will work in multi-disciplinary groups, conduct research and develop design ideas for two ethnic enclaves around the MacArthur Park area: El Corredor Oaxaqueño and El Corredor Maya. These urban enclaves function as small pockets of cultural and linguistic resistance and affirmation. In spatial terms, each corridor comprises the sidewalk, the curb, the street, and the walls/facades of the buildings in the block. All these urban elements work together to create a distinctive, powerful cultural expression in the neighborhood.
Working closely with Indigenous immigrant individuals and groups, UH students were tasked with facilitating and co-creating design ideas that express, affirm, and celebrate the Indigenous immigrant experiences, stories, and traditions of the Oaxacan and Maya communities on their respective corridors. There are two primary outcomes: 1) a Story Map where students collect, archive, organize, and digitally display the relevant information related to the two corridors, and 2) produce a series of drawings, renderings, collages, and digital models (if needed) of the design ideas, accompanied by a descriptive narrative of the design project.
